


Wisteria

by tatertotarmy



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Blooming Zine, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21656416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatertotarmy/pseuds/tatertotarmy
Summary: “Does he have to go, too?”A hushed voice echoed off from empty floorboards and empty walls, slipping through the crack of a door. All the while, Natsume gently unfolded a small yukata in his arms - grey, wrinkled, dirty - and attempted to put it on, his only guide a crack of light from the doorway.“We can’t just leave him alone.” An exasperated sigh, the sound of hands clapping fabric. “You heard what happened at his last home, right? Tore the place right apart.”--Written for Blooming: Natsume's Book of Flowers, a Natsume Yuujinchou Zine
Comments: 5
Kudos: 83





	Wisteria

“Does he have to go, too?”

A hushed voice echoed off from empty floorboards and empty walls, slipping through the crack of a door. All the while, Natsume gently unfolded a small yukata in his arms - grey, wrinkled, dirty - and attempted to put it on, his only guide a crack of light from the doorway.

“We can’t just leave him alone.” An exasperated sigh, the sound of hands clapping fabric. “You heard what happened at his last home, right? Tore the place right apart.”

Natsume squinted through the darkness, trying to find the armholes. Part of him wanted to turn on the light, but reflex stopped him. If he turned on the light, he might see them. And if he saw them, he might get scared and run and break things. At least he could still pretend in the dark. 

“Right…” Another sigh. Long, drawn out. “Takashi!”

He stiffened up, hands freezing around his obi. Anxiety gripped him as he looked out the crack in the door, afraid to answer. His mouth shakily opened and closed, trying to find the words to speak. But nothing but weak stutters came out, arms trembling in place. Natsume knew he needed to get this done right, but nothing was working and he couldn’t figure it out and why couldn’t he move quick enough or speak or -

The sliding door slammed open, the sound echoing against bare walls of a plain, empty room. Natsume, dusty grey yukata half off his shoulder and obi haphazardly tied behind him, looked up with wide eyes.

And the first thing he saw was the color purple. Intricate, purple flowers weaving up and down a neatly worn yukata. 

He heard a sigh, and then the clack of geta against the wood, “Really? Takashi, we’re leaving soon. I swear...you’re hardly even dressed…” Hands reached down, gripping the ends of his yukata and straightening it out, soon grabbing his shoulder to whip him around to face the opposite wall. 

“Honestly, do you know nothing…” A hushed, irritated voice behind him as the obi was yanked back, nearly causing him to stumble over. And soon, it was tied tightly behind him - a bit too uncomfortably for his liking.

“I’m sorry…” A whisper through a timid, fearful voice.

“Time to go, Takashi.”

A grip on his wrist, and then a pull as he was dragged right out of the room, the sound of clumsy geta echoing through the house, mismatched with the even steps of his caretaker. As they walked down the stairs, towards the front door, his other caretaker stood with crossed arms - dressed in a striking dark purple yukata.

“We’ll cutting it close, you know.” The front door opened, twinkles of light shining on the road beyond.

“We’ll make it as long as we’re quick, dear.” Natsume was tugged again, guided outside and onto the road, where countless lanterns were roped above them, acting as guides along the path. 

He gazed above for only a moment before he suddenly looked down to his dusty grey yukata and the bottoms of his caretakers’ yukatas. He knew he couldn’t risk looking up. If he looked up, then another monster would be there to taunt him. And that would just make everything worse.

It was after several moments - his guardians chatting idly above - did Natsume start to notice the growing illumination of the ground, casting multiple shadows from the three of them. Natsume swallowed, the temptation to look up growing more and more with each step. But he couldn’t look up. How could he dare look up?

“See? We made it just in time.”

The noise around them began to swell, and Natsume began to see more yukata brush along his vision. Ends of white, green, orange, pink, blue, purple. Some of them lined in gold. Some decorated with intricate flowers. Even the plainer ones etched with beautiful black detailing. His eyes started to wander upwards, a nervous, guilty look on his face as he dared to start going above his territory, up to a place he shouldn’t ever reach for.

But then, Natsume finally looked up at the crowd of a festival, and everything looked...beautiful.

Countless booths lined the path with strings of colorful lanterns zig-zagging between the open air, painted in pinks, greens, purples, and even more in the distance. And within the space were countless people in yukata, each in their own unique colors and patterns. Patterns of purple flowers going up and down the fabric. Patterns of golden threads and golden leaves. Patterns of interwoven rainbows within the fabric, purples lining up around Natsume's level. Some of them wore strange masks on their face or just on their head - which scared him for a moment, as the monsters always seemed to wear masks, but soon Natsume began to notice something. Everyone here was laughing with everyone else...nobody walked around unseen and nobody looked like a monster. It was...perfect, honestly.

He looked at the yukata of one of his caretakers, the one adorned with purple flowers all over. It really was beautiful. He couldn't help but admire them, wondering just what they were. Natsume knew what some of the other flowers were - cherry blossoms being the main bloom he knew - but he had never seen the one on her yukata before. Was it even a real flower...or was it just a pretty drawing of one that didn't exist?

Either way...Natsume couldn’t help but admire it.

In the corner of his eye, however, he saw something different.

He blinked, looking over towards the side of the main pathway, where someone stood beside a booth with crossed arms. Natsume wasn’t sure why he looked in the first place. After all, that person didn’t look all that striking to begin with. Though...come to think of it, that was the reason he stood out in the first place. A tall, slender frame draped in a dusty, plain grey yukata, a circular white mask over his face with two small holes. Absolutely nothing stood out about them...which was strange. In a field of beautiful flowers and lush colors of pinks and purples...they stood as an anomaly in grey.

Natsume frowned, a hand picking nervously at his own grey yukata as he continued staring.

And then, the figure’s head shifted a little, and Natsume felt like the figure was seeing him. He jumped, looking ahead. That was rude, wasn’t it? If he got scolded for seeing monsters that other people couldn’t see, then he really didn’t want to be scolded to staring at someone people could see!

But then in the corner of his eye, he saw the figure begin to move, coming closer. Weaving through the crowd with ease. Natsume swallowed, trying to ignore it even if he couldn’t help but keep glancing over as they grew closer, closer, closer, until -

“You are gifted with the sight, are you not?”

A plain voice, nothing remarkable about it. Nothing feminine or masculine about it. And if Natsume tried to pick out a simple defining trait of it...he wouldn’t be able to even come up with one descriptor. It was simply...a voice that existed.

Natsume finally relented, looking up at the person with a confused look. They were simply standing there, looking down at him with a slight tilt to their head. And now that they were closer, Natsume noticed one small splash of color on their head. A small, purple flower tucked behind their ear.

“What?” Natsume asked, “What do you mean?”

Above, two voices went silent.

“You are able to see me, correct?” The voice asked. “And you are able to hear me. Such a rare find.”

Natsume felt as though his insides had turned to ice, his eyes growing wide.

He felt the grip on his wrist grow tighter. “Takashi, what are you doing?”

“I...I…” Natsume opened his mouth, but stutters could only escape. What had he done? He had been trying his best not to see any of the monsters, but he made a mistake. 

“Answer me, Takashi. Are you doing...that again?”

Part of him wanted to believe this was some joke. That the being in front of him would suddenly take off their mask and everything would be normal. That he would just be scolded for staring at someone in the crowd and he would be normal and everything would be fine. How could he have not known that this person was a monster? After all, they looked so out of place. Plain. Grey. Stagnant in a sea of colors.

Like him.

The plain voice spoke again. “Come now, young one, you’re shaking.” A thin, pale hand reached out to him, dusty grey draped over it. Natsume looked up at it with wide eyes, and he began to shake his head. 

No, he didn’t want this.

Natsume ripped his wrist away from his caretaker and began to run, darting within the rainbow even as his caretakers screamed after him. He could feel tears threaten to fall from his eyes, sobs choking between fast breaths as he kept running and running and running. Running between pale blues and pale pinks. Squeezing between cherry blossom patterns and golden threads. Rushing around indigos and purple flowers. And him, a speck of dust in the wind, a pathetic scrap compared to the beautiful purples he ran from.

It was when he was near the festival’s edge when he finally slowed down, his lungs burning with every choked breath. He kept pushing his legs to keep walking until he was off the path, hidden behind the safety of a tree. He didn’t want to be seen. He didn’t want to be found. And he didn’t want to find any more of those monsters. In that moment, he desperately wanted to be the dust he looked like, just so he could be blown away. It happened before, and it would happen again. That’s all he was, wasn’t he? Just a speck of grey floating from color to color.

“Ah.” The sound of a plain voice, the gentle shifting of fabric. “So there you are.”

Natsume jumped, teary eyes darting up to see the person - the monster - looking down at him. He pressed his back into the tree, trying harder and harder like he would somehow disappear into it.

“You are so fearful, young one.” The mask tilted again, the flowers behind their ear bouncing with the movement. “Such a shame. Though I can hardly say that I am surprised. Such a cruel fate to be bestowed upon a beautiful, interesting gift.”

Natsume stopped for a moment, taking in several breaths. In the air above the festival, a white firework went off.

“T...Take it away.”

“Hm?” Another firework went off, this time filled with pinks and purples, the light casting deep shadows on the youkai’s mask.

“I-I don’t want to see,” Natsume sniffed, looking down as more fireworks began to fire, lighting up the ground below him. “Take it away. Please…? I don’t want this anymore.” He backed his feet up closer to the tree, like touching the lights on the ground would poison him. He didn’t deserve to touch it now. Not as he was - a grey, different thing.

The monster was silent as more and more fireworks fired in the sky above. At first, Natsume felt hope begin to bloom in his chest. This meant he would get his wish, right? The monster would take his sight away and he could be normal. He could put on a yukata with the lights on and he could smile and finally learn what it was like to walk through a rainbow with eyes held high, able to look at anyone without fear. He could be a regular person and he wouldn’t be a burden anymore. Natsume could be human. 

“Unfortunately…” the monster shook their head, “That is something no youkai can do.”

Natsume felt his throat grow dry.

“It is unfortunate. I am sure many of my kind would enjoy taking the sight away from those undeserving, but humans who have the sight can glimpse into the world of youkai unabated - whether they choose to or not,” the monster tilted their head again, “To me, however, it is a very remarkable gift. An honor for those of you who are able to peek into an otherwise unseen world.”

“I-It isn’t.” Natsume shook his head. “W-What are you talking about…?”

“You are able to witness beings and events that no other can see in this festival. I believe that counts as an honor,” the monster seemed genuinely confused for a moment, but then looked over towards the festival, “Though...in the realm of humans, I am sure that they do not appreciate this gift. How ignorant they are, unable to appreciate our realm. They would rather play pretend in robes bathed in royalty than truly understand how the world truly works.”

“B-But...I don’t want this…” Natsume spoke, “I want to be like them. That’s all I want! Please…” He felt tears fall down his face.

The monster stood there a while, just watching as the fireworks began to reach their apex.

“Humans and youkai are quite different,” the monster began, looking up to the sky, “In the world of youkai, power is respected. Earned. As it is something etched into our very being. We do not choose to become powerful or weak, we simply...are, and the way of our world respects that. There is fighting, of course, but we always recognize each other’s abilities.”

“But...humans are different, as you are one of great ability and power...yet you are shunned and ostracized as though you are nothing but dust,” the monster reached up, plucking the flower from behind their ear, “Tell me, do you know what this flower is?”

“N...No?”

“Wisteria,” the monster twirled the purple flower around in their hands, “It is said that long ago, these were associated with the nobility of human culture. Humans often associate this purple with those of importance, from what I have seen in my lifetime.” As the fireworks began to dwindle in the sky, they reached down, placing the flower behind Natsume’s ear.

“Know this, young one,” the monster spoke, “The ability you possess is a difficult one...but it is a power that places you far above those who mock this flower’s history. You may be a young prince yet, but the day will come where you will rise to your station.”

“B-But…” Natsume shook his head, “I...don’t want that.”

“Hm?” the monster tilted their head curiously, “Why would you not want that? You possess power. They do not appreciate the gifts you hold. You are above them.”

“I-I don’t want that…” Natsume shook his head again, the wisteria falling from his ear and fluttering to the ground, “I-I don’t want to be a-above them or a prince. I-I just...want to be with them.”

“Even as they mock you? Even if you witness more than they will ever know?”

“Y-Yes…!” Natsume answered, “I-I don’t want to be better than them...I-I just want them to smile at me and let me walk with them. I would do anything for that! Because...that’s all I ever want.”

The monster was silent for a while, just simply watching Natsume. Immediately, Natsume became afraid. What were they going to do?

“I see…” the monster slowly reached up to their mask, delicately lifting it up to reveal the bottom of their face, “What a curious answer you have given me. Well...I would like to see such a desire be granted...for you to be equal. I look forward to seeing whether those desires are bestowed upon you, young one.”

Natsume’s eyes grew fearful at the last sentence, and just as his mouth opened to ask what that meant, the monster vanished. He gasped, freezing in place, afraid of whatever else would come.

“Takashi?”

A familiar voice, calling out from the festival ground. His caretaker.

Natsume looked around, afraid of the youkai’s words. He took in a deep breath before rushing away from the tree, back towards the festival.

The wisteria left abandoned beneath the foot of the tree, lying amongst a flurry of yellow petals.


End file.
